Former Regions Bank branch manager sentenced in embezzlement case

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- A former Regions Bank branch manager was sentenced to 21 months in prison on Thursday for embezzling more than $128,000 from two of the bank's customers, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Roy D. Sexton announced today.

U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith also ordered Brenda Kay Smith, 36, of Lincoln, to pay Regions more than $128,000 in restitution and remain on supervised release for five years after completing her prison sentence.

"White collar crime doesn't pay in the Northern District of Alabama," Vance said. This sentence signals that financial fraud will be subject to tough sentencing."

Smith was manager of the Lincoln branch of Regions Bank before leaving the bank in 2010. She embezzled money from the two customers' accounts between 2008 and 2010. She pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement in March.